How to Pray the Rosary, Non-Traditional, Personal Prayer
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How to Pray the Rosary Personal Prayer
You may sometimes find great comfort in the traditional way to pray the rosary. There may be times when you will want to pray in a more personal way. This also means that you will need to be very much in tune with your heart. It will be worth it, because personal rosary prayers can have a profound impact on your life. I will offer a few steps, but the real joy will be found in your own journey with the beads. Life without prayer can be cold and lonely.
1. Consider something in your life (your love life, finances, relationships...), open your heart and mind, and ask God to bring you the 'truth.' It may help to meditate on one of the mysteries of faith while holding the crucifix/cross. Writing the topics that come to heart and mind may be helpful.
2. Does more than one area of your life come to mind? No doubt. Is there one area that needs more spiritual attention than another? You decide. You can focus on your personal prayer if you choose just one. You are free to pray the rosary as many times as you wish, of course.
3. Remember to focus on the truly meaningful areas of your life. For instance, if the thought of owning a material object comes to mind, consider what the feeling of that object would bring. Would a new Mercedes lift your spirits? Why exactly? This is something to contemplate. Certainly the desire to have your spirits lifted and to feel joy in life is something to yearn for. Be sure your personal prayer enhances your life in a way that can't be bought. Get to the root of material goals. There is nothing wrong with wanting material things, of course. What is truly joyful, however, is finding joy in life with or without those material objects.
4. You may choose to concentrate on love, forgiveness, kindness, grace, joy and so on instead of a particular topic. You can even write them down if you want to. There are 5 decades to most rosaries. You can pray a different intention on each or the same intention for each. Remember, this is your own personal prayer time.
5. Okay, begin by taking deep, cleansing breaths to help achieve focus and grounding. Take as many as you need to.
6. I like to imagine myself breathing in very pure, white light. With every breath, my body fills with this light a bit more. I imagine it reaching my toes, and I keep taking the deep breaths until every part of the inside of my body is covered. Then, I imagine the light totally covering my body like a shield. This meditation may take a few minutes. It doesn’t matter really. What is important is that you achieve this very relaxed and open place. If you mind is cluttered with thoughts, you won’t be able to hear what God wants you to know. Personal prayer is about two way communication.
7. Find a mental imagery that helps you to achieve this place of pure relaxation and peace. Be kind, you may need to work on this for a while before you feel at peace. That’s totally okay. Non judgment is the way to go. Be kind and loving to yourself and others.
8. Most rosaries have one to five (usually five) decades on it. Each decade has 10 beads and is separated by either a larger rosary bead and/or a chain or maybe even gold or silver colored bead caps. You can use any type of rosary you want for personal prayer.
9. Pray the rosary as your heart directs you. If you feel like you need a bit of structure, consider a short phrase for each of the Hail Mary (smaller beads of the decade) beads. Remember the meditation you performed before praying. What were your intentions? Were they specific (Uncle Joe’s health) or more general (peace of mind). You might repeat out loud or silently, ‘Good health to Joe’ for instance or just a simple “Peace.” When you reach the larger Pater (Our Father) bead, you might recite the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father) prayer. Choose the same or a different intention for the next decade. Medical research has shown us that when people were prayed for (and they didn’t even know it) from a distance, they recovered quicker from surgery. Do we really need scientific research, though?
10. When you have prayed on each of the beads (all of them or however you decide to do) create some kind of closing for yourself. You might say, “Dear Lord, these are my intentions. Thy will be done.” You can close however you desire and with whatever prayer you choose. I sometimes look at prayers written and recite those.
11. Take some deep, cleansing breaths to return to an alert awareness. Begin to hear the noises around you, any aromas of the room. Wiggle your toes and move your arms and legs a bit. Give yourself some time to become more aware. This might take a few minutes or more depending on how relaxed and meditative you were. Lights may look brighter and you may even feel those tight muscles in your shoulders release.
Taken in part from John Edwards "Practical Praying-Using the Rosary to Enhance your Life"
Personal Prayer Compared to Traditional Rosary Prayer
The difference between praying the rosary in a personal way (personal prayer)versus the traditional way is simple. Your meditations are focused on the life of Christ in the traditional rosary. This is powerful, so don’t overlook it. When you pray the personal prayer rosary, you meditate on your own life and your own intentions. I used this method of praying when my son was in the Army in Iraq. My intentions were for the safety of all involved and for my own peace of mind in spite of the circumstances.
I believe long distance prayer energy through verbal and mental imagery can have a powerful on others. Have you ever picked up the phone the call someone only to find that they are already on the other end even before it rings? This has happened to me quite a few times. I think it is the clear intentions (love) I have for the other person that they feel, so they think of me, also. Magical things can happen because energy isn’t confined to just one place. Your positive and negative thoughts and actions are felt throughout the world. Just imagine that!
